What do you think?
Rate this book
A History of Mathematics
A History of Mathematics, Third Edition , provides students with a solid background in the history of mathematics and focuses on the most important topics for today’s elementary, high school, and college curricula. Students will gain a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts in their historical context, and future teachers will find this book a valuable resource in developing lesson plans based on the history of each topic. This book is ideal for a junior or senior level course in the history of mathematics for mathematics majors intending to become teachers.
992 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1992
17 people are currently reading
444 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 9, 2008
This book was written by my former boss, so I kinda had to love it, but I secretly really did.
July 3, 2015
An exhilarating survey of mathematics, from the heyday of Egypt & Babylon up to modern time. Full of cultural curiosities like e.g. how to calculate fractions the Egyptian way? What about Babylonian sexagesimal, and why is it still relevant? (And so on)
There is also little discussion -- quite an aside -- on ethnomathematics, i.e. mathematics outside the Western tradition. Some exploration on math from the Americas and Africa shows that this subject is indeed quite universal.
The book's greatest strength, however, is its thematic organization. It is chronologically divided into (pretty much) self-sufficient chapters. Assuming high school/early college mastery of math, readers can jump to a period of interest and get the gist.
Explanations are generally lucid, even more so when it comes to geometry.
True to its title, this book is "A History of Math: An Introduction". And what good introduction! Again we are reminded that science is truly cumulative process, each new generation building on the previous' legacy.
There is also little discussion -- quite an aside -- on ethnomathematics, i.e. mathematics outside the Western tradition. Some exploration on math from the Americas and Africa shows that this subject is indeed quite universal.
The book's greatest strength, however, is its thematic organization. It is chronologically divided into (pretty much) self-sufficient chapters. Assuming high school/early college mastery of math, readers can jump to a period of interest and get the gist.
Explanations are generally lucid, even more so when it comes to geometry.
True to its title, this book is "A History of Math: An Introduction". And what good introduction! Again we are reminded that science is truly cumulative process, each new generation building on the previous' legacy.
July 18, 2011
Excellent! Filled with useful information.
December 13, 2019
It was good. But less information about the working of Chinese civilization. Similarly I also wanted to know more about the working of Babylonians.
August 18, 2018
Great for math students and those looking to find out where math "came from" and how it evolved into what we use today.
November 28, 2024
This was one of the books recommended by my Professor for the History and Philosophy of Mathematics. I managed to borrow a copy from my university library and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I honestly preferred "Mathematical Thought from Ancient to Modern Times" (1972) by Morris Kline, but this one was newer and as such was able to discuss some of the more recent developments in mathematics, such as the computer-generated proof of the four-color map theorem and the tour de force of Andrew Wiles that was his demonstration of Fermat's Last Theorem. Both books discussed physics, whenever relevant, but Kline dedicated more space to the applications of mathematical methods to physics, which I thought was a clear advantage.
Read
May 10, 2017Essential to the understanding of Math. Very helpful with defining accurate methods of teaching Math.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.